It’s been a while since a homegrown player came into the Watford team and made a place his own.
Ryan Andrews has done just that over the last year, and the fans have latched onto him not just because of his strong club links but also because his style of play is exciting.
There have been few finer sights than seeing an Andrews burst down the right flank given his incredible pace, while his finish for the third goal at Plymouth showed he has finesse as well.
Those lung-busting runs are a joy to behold, but must also be energy-sapping.
“It is hard, but the player that I am, it’s my sort of game,” said Andrews who now has 31 first-team appearances since being given his debut as a substitute by Slaven Bilic in the FA Cup tie at Reading last season.
“It’s definitely something that we try and use to our advantage as I do have that pace so every time we do get down the right, we try and be dynamic and attack with pace.
“It’s hard work but it’s part of the game.”
It would be tempting to just try and streak down the flank at every opportunity.
“Sometimes you do have to think about when you go and when you don’t,” explained Andrews.
- Rajovic agents pours cold water on transfer talk
- Six Watford players who left during previous January windows
- Flash sale: 3-month WO subscription for £3 or 50% off full year
“If you go and the pass gets intercepted then you have to make a 70-yard run back to defend, and that makes it harder for yourself.
“When there’s a clear chance to do it, and I know that I can make that run, then I do it, but also in my head I know sometimes that chance isn’t there.
“It is something we use strategically.”
With his pace, is he the fastest player in the squad?
“Yeah, for sure!”
What about faster than his Dad, the former Hornets striker Wayne, in his prime?
“Yeah, I would say so. I’ve told him that, but I don’t think he’s happy with it!”
Andrews was very much of the opinion after the game at Bristol City that if you can’t win, then the next best thing is not to lose.
“We went into the game knowing that if we could get three points that we’d be close to the play-offs, but I guess that a draw is better than no points at all,” he said.
“We knew it would be a tough away game, but I felt the team as a whole played solid.
“The point was well deserved.
“Obviously they made an error for the penalty with the handball, but then we kind of gifted them their goal.
“We knew after that we could still win the game though, and there was plenty of time to try and get back into it.
“It didn’t end the way we wanted, but we got the point so we’re still pleased.”
As the head coach pointed out, it was another mistake that led to the City equaliser and there was a lack of ruthlessness at the other end of the field.
“If you go back to some of our previous games that we should have won there were errors for goals in there,” Andrews admitted.
“It’s something that we need to work on as a team.
“It just wasn’t going the way that we wanted it to today in the final third.
“But that is something we can work on at the training ground as well, that final pass, whether it leads directly to a goal or creates another opportunity.
“But we’re still playing well together, so there’s not too much we can complain about.
“At the beginning of the season we were conceding a lot from set pieces and we made that something we had to improve on.
“We were pleased that we didn’t concede anything today from set pieces, because they had a lot.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel